The new year starts out short but strong with Kodansha releasing the next round of new titles, including the surprisingly fun title Monster Hunter Orage. Viz has a nice mix of shonen and shojo titles including a countdown to the last print Shonen Jump and the next One Piece Color Walk art book as well as a new title for the kids, Fluffy Fluffy Cinnamoroll.

Alex’s Pick: For me, despite all the fun things being released by Viz this week, there is absolutely no other pick than Wandering Son v.2. I adored the first volume and its bittersweet tale of two children who identify with the other gender, and am looking forward to getting my hands on the second volume. This is a must read for 2012.

Connie’s Pick: I’m going to have to go with Wandering Son 2 as well. The first volume was a very sweet and sensitive look at developing gender identity, and I’ve been waiting months for the followup. Having said that, there’s a lot of fun stuff from Viz this week, and it’s always a good day in my house when a new volume of Skip Beat arrives. That series never fails to disappoint with its manic sense of humor and sweet, shoujo-y moments.

Lori’s Pick: Lots of good shojo this week with Kimi ni Todoke and Degenki Daisy, but I’m giving my pick to a shonen title I’m surprised I’ve come to enjoy; Psyren. While I’ve felt let down lately by a lot of shonen, Psyren has been a breath of fresh are with fun, quirky characters and an intriguing mystery to solve. I’m going to miss it leaving Shonen Jump, all the more since it’s not available digitally (for now I hope).